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pulled a piece of paper out of the pile without looking at it, crumpled the parchment into a ball, and held it in her fist. Then, blanking her mind, she let what she thought of as “the other side” take over. Words and images began to appear, and she passed them on. “Is there a Loki in the audience? Your mother is here . . . She says that you are correct about Del. He is a good man, and it would be a mistake to let this one get away.”
    The woman named Loki looked shocked, the audience chuckled, and there was a scattering of applause. More than a dozen messages followed. Most contained at least one ortwo items that were evidential, and everything was going well, until Norr dipped her hand into the basket and chose the next billet. What felt like electricity ran all the way up her arm, the sensitive felt cold air embrace her, and knew that a spirit being was about to take control of her body. It soon became apparent that the invading entity wasn’t used to a female form and didn’t especially like it. But what he did approve of however was the prospect of a captive audience. He took control of her voice box and spoke in a voice so low that it hurt. “Good evening. My name is Milos Lysander. Prior to my death I was a scientist, a philosopher, and the primary force behind the Techno Society.”
    Most of crowd sat motionless, not quite sure of what was happening, or why. But the metal man was electrified by the announcement. The robot came to his feet, activated all of its onboard recording devices, and ignored the complaints directed at him by those seated behind him. “The mission of the Techno Society,” Lysander continued, “is to literally reshape the future of mankind. More than that, to use technology as the means to reunite the pieces of a once-great empire and lift the scattered remnants of humanity back into the light of reason. How will we accomplish that? Well, I will tell you. First . . .”
    As the scientist continued to speak there was a mutter of disapproval, followed by a scattering of insults, and a heartfelt chorus of boos. Norr could feel the sentiment in the room start to shift and struggled to reassert control over her body as pieces of food started to fly. A well-aimed piece of overripe fruit hit Norr in the chest, caused Lysander to pause momentarily, and gave the sensitive the opportunity that she’d been looking for. She clamped down, forced the scientist out, and raised her hands in an attempt to calm the crowd. It didn’t work. The rowdier members of the audience liked throwing food at her, the rest were leaving, and the ushers had produced clubs, which they swung freely.
    Loro urged Norr to retreat backstage, which she did. A heavy was waiting there to collect the money she owed to writer’s guild and left the moment he was paid. Norr knew she should count the take to ensure that the actor’s guild hadn’t taken more money than they were entitled to but didn’t want to take the time. The crowd was chanting something ugly, the entity named Lysander frightened her, and negative emotions converged from every side. With her bodyguard in attendance the sensitive slipped out through the back door. The metal man was waiting in the shadows, and when the twosome left, the machine followed along behind.

TWO
The Planet Anafa
    In order to reestablish man’s dominion over the stars, and save humanity from barbarity, it may be necessary to carry out barbarous acts against those who resist our efforts. The essential irony of this is not lost upon the governing council, which regrets the necessity to use violence.
    â€”Techno Society Operations Manual,
Section One: Guiding Principles
    The milky white light produced by the planet’s twin moons filtered down through a thin layer of clouds to bathe Seros in a ghostly glow. There were no streetlights, but as the coach followed the winding road that led to the top of